Tagging
MusicBee provides a number of ways to edit track details (formally known as , informally known as tags). You can edit any field you have displayed as a column in the main panel by selecting the track and then clicking once on the field. (If you dislike this feature, you can disable it in Tag Preferences.) The menu action Edit > Copy Tags (hotkey Ctrl+C) will copy the tags of a selected file but leave out any artwork, ratings and the number of times the track has been played or skipped. However, you can set up another hotkey to copy all this including tags from Preferences > Hotkeys > Edit: Copy Tags, Artwork, Play Counters and Rating. Edit > Paste or Ctrl+V will paste the copied tags into another track. If you edit the currently playing track, changes will not be saved until a new track plays or playback is stopped. For more comprehensive editing features, see below. Tag Editor You can open the tag editor for any track or group of tracks by selecting them, right clicking, and choosing "Edit" from the menu. There is also a hotkey for this command (Shift+Enter by default). If you are editing more than one track at once, there will be a check box next to each field. If you change a field, it will be automatically checked and the value will be applied to all tracks. Fields which have differing values will be shown as blank, and checking this box will clear them all. Fields for which some tracks have the same value but others are blank will show the defined value, and checking the box will place that value in the field for all the tracks. The tag editor can be shown as a floating window or docked in the main panel. Each tab of the editor is shown below, along with a list of how the tags are saved to the file, based on format. Properties The properties tab mostly shows descriptive file info that cannot be edited directly. However, you can choose to change the date added to the MB database, encoder info, and play/skip counts if you wish. You can also add or edit source website info and file name (unless Auto-Organize is turned on). Due to reduced space, Date Added, Last Played, and Play/Skip Count are not available when the tag editor is docked in the main panel. Tags This tab shows major info about the track like Title, Artist, etc. Multiple Tag Splitter When editing tags, MusicBee allows multiple values to be stored for many fields. Each value is separated using the ';' character. For example, entering 'Justin Timberlake; Ciara' would store both artists and include both artists separately in places like the Track Browser and Library Explorer. You can also click the "..." button to open a multiple value editor. Splitter screens can handle up to about 25 entries; beyond that you should use the to add more. The artist and composer fields also allow you to enter a special display tag. For example, you might prefer to display 'Justin Timberlake ft. Ciara' while still splitting the artists. In fact, if the artist was originally entered as 'Justin Timberlake ft. Ciara', opening the Multiple Artist Splitter and pressing the Split button would automatically separate the artists for you, while leaving the original value as the display artist. The artist splitter further allows you to choose a role for the artists listed and adjusts the tags accordingly: Artist, Performer, Guest Artist, or Remixer. (Beware that if you later change the artist or composer in the main tag editor, it will overwrite your split values.) Genre Suggestions The genre splitter is also unique in that it has a special "Suggested Genres" button, which will show you some of the top genres for that track from last.fm and let you choose to apply them. Tags (2) This tab contains supplementary information about the track, including up to 16 Custom Tags of your choice. Quality, Tempo, Mood and Occasion have lists of values you can choose from, or you can enter your own. Using the "..." button next to Keywords will populate it with values from the last.fm tag cloud. You can also enter your own, just use a semicolon to separate them. Sort Artist and Sort Album Artist are actually Custom Tags which are preconfigured, but can be changed if you prefer not to use them. Artwork The Artwork tab in the tag editor allows you to add one or more pictures using a number of methods: * Copy/Paste or drop an image from your computer * Click the Add button and choose a picture from your computer * Right click and select 'Search Internet' - MusicBee will search all the artwork providers you have enabled until a match is found. A dialog will display and allow you to choose between the matching pictures. On adding a picture you will be prompted to choose how the picture is to be stored (unless you have unchecked "confirm picture storage options when adding artwork" in General Preferences): * embed picture in the music file: The picture is embedded into the music file. You might want to use this option to ensure the picture is never lost when you copy the file. * copy picture to folder.jpg: The picture is saved to the same folder as the music file and named folder.jpg (which is a windows standard). Keep in mind however that the picture can be overridden when using other applications (eg. Windows Media Player). * link to the original picture: A logical association between the music file and the picture is maintained within MusicBee. Note that if you move the picture outside of MusicBee, the picture will no longer be displayed in MusicBee. * copy to the same folder as the music file and name as: The picture is copied and named using the naming template. If you move the music file using MusicBee, the picture will also be moved to the new location. Lyrics Only MP3s offer a way to save synchronized and unsynchronized lyrics separately. Checking "mark as having no lyrics" will keep MusicBee from searching for lyrics for that track. Settings This tab lets you adjust various settings for the track. You can use this slider instead of or in addition to Volume Analysis, to fine tune the volume of specific tracks. Choose a specific equalizer preset that will be applied to a track or tracks. Will prevent a track from playing under some or all circumstances: *'Full Ban:' track will always be skipped *'Only when shuffling:' track will not be included when shuffling or using Auto DJ You can apply special handling to tracks marked as iTunes compilations in Sorting & Grouping preferences. The whole album will play in order, even when shuffling. Tick to make MusicBee start the track from the spot where it last stopped (i.e. to keep your spot in audiobooks, podcasts, etc) If you adjust the start or end time for the track, the parts of the track not between the start and end times will not be played. These buttons will cause MusicBee to try to detect silent periods at the start and end of the track and adjust the start/end times accordingly. Tag Inspector The Tag Editor allows you to edit the most common tags in a music file, or the specific custom tags you have configured. In order to view and edit every tag, click the All Tags button. MusicBee will show every tag in a grid format: + Click the + button to add a new tag to the music file. You will be prompted to select the id for a predefined tag or enter a new name if you require, and then the tag value. ... Click the ... button to edit the selected tag value. - Click the - button to delete the selected tag. Auto-Tagging MusicBee provides a number of tools that use web services to automatically tag your files. Auto-Tag by Album Auto-Tag by Track Although not available from any list, is a tag that can be used and will show - when the tags are set, otherwise it will show Category:Metadata